I am trying to find a list of schools where I can receive a strong major in Psychology and strong minor in dance.
It seems schools I have found is either strong in one but not the other.
Any Suggestions?
I don’t know how you are defining ‘strong’ in an area, since there really aren’t any undergraduate rankings of psychology programs. If you’re going by graduate rankings, then you’re only looking at 1) schools that have graduate programs in psychology and 2) what scholars think is important for graduate students in psychology. Undergrads have different needs that only overlap to a certain degree with what’s important for grad students.
Most colleges have psychology majors, and since that’s one of the most popular majors, they tend to be relatively solid. Most good colleges will have good psychology majors with a variety of courses to take. Moreover, you only spend about 1/3 to 1/2 of your coursework in your major, so you don’t want to pick your college solely on the basis of the major. (Dance, I imagine, is a little different.)
Perhaps you could list the colleges that you’ve taken a look at and outline what your concerns are with their psychology majors?
@BELLAVAN Could you say a bit more about what you are looking for in a school - size, location, budget? What kind of dance? How are your grades/test scores? It can be difficult to find depth in dance at a small LAC, but most medium-large universities should be able to accommodate both. Psych is a very common undergraduate major.
In order to find a school with a strong dance minor, you may want to screen for colleges with an available dance major. This will narrow your choices so that you can concentrate your further research on other aspects of importance to you.
D is interested in a major in neuroscience* and a dance minor, so I’m somewhat familiar with this. A few which come to mind are Barnard College which has top programs for both, and so does NYU, U Michigan, and Cornell. Southern Methodist University has an excellent dance program and a very solid psychology program. Ohio State, has a very strong dance program, and it’s psychology program is pretty good too.
My cousin’s son is doing a major in neuroscience and a minor in dance at U of Wisconsin, and is very happy with it.
- - My kid is specifically interested in the intersection between neurobiology and psychology.
Tulane seemed very strong in their dance minor when we visited. One reason is that the minors can take classes with the majors (but not the BFAs). Check out Vassar, too.
Yes, it would be helpful to know both what kind of psychology interests you, and what kind of dance.
Also a rough idea of your stats so as to make realistic suggestions.
There are many, many options based on just the availability of a psych major and a dance minor, so more parameters are needed to narrow it down.
Off-the-cuff suggestions:
Skidmore’s psych program offers clinical field practice opportunities, which are often hard to come by for undergraduates. It’s also a great performing arts school that offers both a major and a minor in dance. If you are interested in becoming a clinical psychologist, it could be a great choice. Also look at Connecticut College.
U of Richmond has merit aid specifically for performing arts, and dance minors are eligible. I don’t know anything about their psych department specifically but I’m sure it must be solid. Also in Richmond, VCUArts. And URochester, Case Western Reserve, and Pitt are all worth a look.
If you want a serious ballet program specifically, U of Utah has that, as well as an honors-specific track of the psych major within the honors college.
USC makes it particularly easy to double-major or minor in performing arts disciplines. Also in LA, Chapman could be worth looking a look too.
And if your interest in psych leans toward applying it in a dance context, then consider this: http://www.elon.edu/e-web/admissions/majorsheets/dance_science.xhtml
@BELLAVAN Agree with others that some parameters would help. If small LAC is on your list, and you’re open to the Midwest, St Olaf is an amazing school with a very solid psych dept (I was particularly impressed with their research methods course) and merit scholarships specifically for dance for both majors and non-majors: https://wp.stolaf.edu/dance/how-to-apply/
For a pretty different educational experience, both Sarah Lawrence and Bennington have strong dance programs and strong psych programs, although neither school offers majors or minors in anything, since students design their own programs of study.
The challenge with many Dance minors is that they are not designed for people who have extensive dance experience. I would ask about the curriculum for a Dance minor at schools you are interested in and if you can in fact take upper level courses. Miami University in Ohio has it’s own Dance Company and no Dance Major. You must audition for a place in the company. They have a Dance minor but like before is not really for experienced dancers. They are a school know for it’s excellent undergraduate education.